The Dirty Hippy

Welcome to the Dirty Hippy, dedicated to surf,
sew and sustainability. Creativity lives in us all. Just as I am inspired by nature and people, I also hope to inspire you with my photos, art and musings about the surf culture, fashion and design, and eco consciousness.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

I'm really stoked to be involved with the 100 Wave Challenge for Boys to Men again this year! We're already starting off with a bang! Check out this awesome segment by Shawn Styles with KFMB-TV. Our community rocks!

Monday, January 20, 2014

"For
in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree
is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver."~Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I trekked across the trail yesterday, I thought about what freedom means to me and how MLK's legacy gave fruit to the environmental justice movement, ensuring that all people have the right to a clean and healthy environment. He often spoke about nature and its importance to humankind.

To me, freedom is being able to enjoy nature in all of its raw beauty. I think the best way to preserve nature is to protect it (from pollution and buildings) but to also leave it alone (i.e. no trail improvement projects). Nature was meant to be enjoyed in the raw, sans man's "messings."

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The last few years I have found it harder
to escape the insanity of the fast-moving human race, especially in Southern
California. The overbuilding and swelling population is putting a big squeeze
on the remaining open spaces and nature in general. Even in my cul-de-sac,
which just a few years ago was quiet, has elevated noise levels these days,
which, for someone who works at home, can be maddening.

My boyfriend and I try to escape all the
noise when we can, such as camping or going for a hike in the mountains or
desert. We avoid camping on Friday and Saturday nights and on holidays since
the masses tend to flock to campgrounds during those times, stock full of alcohol and rowdy
behavior.

Recently, we made the short two-hour drive to the Anza
Borrego Desert for a day/overnight trip, knowing that most of the weekend
warriors would be leaving for their 9-to-5 jobs and to get the kids to school
the next day. The great thing about the 600,000-acre Anza Borrego Desert is you
can pretty much open camp anywhere, which means AWAY from people. Since our
time was limited, however, we camped in the most convenient campground, which
only had a handful of people. We even found a spot away from everyone.

As soon
as we got settled, we headed for the trail. Aside from the few passersby who we
exchanged short pleasantries with, it was pretty quiet. I had found the solace
I had been longing for. I even had to stop a few times on our hike to listen to
the sound of “nothing.” It was glorious. We even enjoyed a rare sighting of one of
the park’s big horn sheep. What an amazing sight. At the end of our trail we enjoyed the lush, tropical palm canyon and waterfall.

As the remarkable full moon rose over our
campsite that night, the only sounds we heard were the howling of a ravenous
pack of coyotes and the crackling of our fire.The stillness overnight was a Godsend.

I
woke up to a beautiful and peaceful sunrise and was just getting our coffee
ready when I heard the disruptive sounds of garbage trucks and beeping of
construction equipment in the nearby town. My heart sunk and I began to cry. “I
can’t even have peace and quiet for a full day,” I said. My boyfriend suggested we pack up and move to
a different part of the park. Instead, I toughed it out and several minutes
later the commotion had subsided. We ate our breakfast and headed back out to
the trail for one last short hike before hitting the road to the hustle and
bustle of our hometown.

Once we hit the trail, I realized once
again that silence really is golden.Although
I almost let the nearby construction noise ruin my morning, I was quickly
reminded that there was a “quiet escape” nearby on the trail. The further we walked
the further away from “civilization” we got and the more content I felt.

It reminded me of a quote I saw in the
park’s visitor’s center: "Solitude is not
something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the
present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find
it." ~Thomas Merton, monk

On our drive home,
I thought about that quote and made a mental note to remind myself of that
every time my stress and annoyance levels begin to rise due to all the “noise”
around me. There are always “peaceful” places to escape – you just have to find
them, or create them yourself, even if it means taking a sea salt bath with the
windows closed and the fan on to block out any interruptions.

I am thankful for
the little solitude I did find in the desert and will hold onto that until I
can go back for more.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

If you are lucky enough to live by the sea you are lucky enough. This is something that I remind myself of every time I surf (which is almost every day). Due to the huge influx of people in the line-up these days, however, it is becoming harder and harder to find that solace that I once enjoyed in the sea.
While there are still small pockets of soul surfers scattered throughout the SoCal coastline, many breaks have been polluted by armies of novices and stand up paddle boarders, many of whom do not know the first thing about being a true surfer or etiquette in the line-up.

During a debate about this, someone recently asked me, "Isn't the ocean for everyone?" Well, that's the way it was intended, but it has gotten way out of control. Many "new" surfers are aggravating veteran surfers, which is causing a lot of unwanted animosity and bad vibes in the water. Let's take SUPs, for example: My experience has been that many of these people on SUPs are abusing their privileges by taking every outside wave, being a hazard in the water, and then having a bad attitude about it. They are taking ownership of "my" waves. Not cool.
It's just like texting and driving. Many people are abusing their cell phone privileges by texting and driving, which has, at times, many grave consequences.

As I reflect on this sad sea change, I wonder how our surfing forefathers would react to the Sport of Kings it once was. And furthermore, how do all the sea life feel about us humans taking over the ocean and claiming it as our own?
On a recent beach walk I came across this ironic sign spray painted on a sea wall:

Sunday, August 25, 2013

The great thing about being connected to the tight-knit surfing community in San Diego is I meet a lot of amazing and inspiring people. I was recently introduced to Craig McClain and Joe Sigurdson, who run a fantastic nonprofit called Boys to Men Mentoring Network, which provides critical guidance to fatherless teenage boys. When they asked me to help them promote their annual fundraiser, the 100 Wave Challenge, I jumped at the chance. After all, isn't this what responsible journalism and PR are all about?Fifteen-year-old Lewis Castrejon doesn’t know how to surf, but he is learning how so he can participate in the Fourth Annual 100 Wave Challenge for Boys to Men to raise money for the organization that he says changed his life.

Castrejon is one of 14 boys mentored by Boys to Men who will be surfing in this year’s 100 Wave Challenge. These young men will be sponsored by “Surf Angels,” a new addition to the annual event.

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The surf-a-thon, scheduledfor September 21, 2013 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Mission Beach, Calif., will include about 150 surfers who will attempt to ride 100 waves each in 12 hours. The goal for each surfer is to raise $1,000. All proceeds will go toward the San Diego-based non profit Boys to Men Mentoring Network, which is dedicated to mentoring fatherless teenage boys throughout the county. The goal for the 2013 100 Wave Challenge is $150,000, up from $110,000 in 2012

“Since being a part of Boys to Men my entire way of thinking has changed,”
Castrejon said. “I am no longer that angry teenager who hurts other kids and
mouths off all the time. I tolerate people better and treat them with the same
kindness I know I want them to treat me with. Boys to Men has given me much
more than a place of safety; they have given me a place of healing. When I go
to the meetings I don't just see friends; I see fathers, brothers and uncles I can
trust.”

Boys to Men is also recruiting independent Surf Angels (non surfers) to
create their own web page to help raise funds for the boys surfing in the event.
One of them is Tammy Parry, a family therapist who has been involved with the
organization for more than 18 years. So far, Parry has raised more than $3,700
for this year’s 100 Wave Challenge.

“In my practice, I have seen the devastation of children's lives due to
lack of male (mentors) in our society,” she said. “Boys to Men has developed an
amazing program that gives young men what they need to become good men.”

The main purpose of the new Surf Angels program is to give non-surfers a chance
to participate in the 100 Wave Challenge. To become a Surf Angel click here.

“The surf angels are not only raising funds to support our boys to surf in
the event;they are also investing in
the future of these young men,” said Boys to Men cofounder and executive
director Craig McClain.

Launched in San Diego in 1996, Boys to Men has become a thriving international
organization, with chapters in 32 cities around the world. More than 6,000
teenage boys have been mentored through the organization since its inception.

The annual 100 Wave Challenge accounts for 60 percent of the Boys to Men’s
annual budget, which has doubled since the first surf-a-thon event. The
organization’s 2013 budget is $250,000.

“One of the great things about the 100 Wave Challenge is it promotes what
we are doing to aspecific target
audience of mentors that we otherwise wouldn’t reach,” said Joe Sigurdson, cofounder
and community development director for Boys to Men. “This gives them a chance
to blend their passion for surfing with helping the boys. We have recruited
some great mentors from guys who have surfed with us, and then decided they wanted
to become a mentor.”

While Boys to Men mentorsboys ages
12 to 17, it has refocused its efforts on middle school- boys. Boys are mentored all year through various
programs, meetings and events, including the organization’s after school weekly
mentoring program, in which dedicated mentors show up at middle schools, high
schools and foster care facilities to give teenage boys a community of mentors
who listen, encourage and believe in them.

Consider these facts:

* Since 1960, the number of American children without fathers in their
lives has quadrupled, from 6 million to more than 24 million.

* Children without fathers in their lives are nine times more likely to
drop out of school, and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.

*5% of the adult male population is in or has been in prison, costing
taxpayers $75 billion a year.

* It costs $500 to give one boy a year in Boys to Men. It costs $47,102 a
year to incarcerate one inmate in California.

“These boys come in to Boys to Men with a lot of intrepidation and
questions, and not a whole lot of faith and zero trust,” Sigurdson said. “After
they become involved with Boys to Men, they start feeling safe. These boys are
unburdening their souls; when they do that is has a compounding effect and it
frees them.Their grades and school
attendance go up and their discipline problems go down. They can start
redirecting their lives. They have role models who help them become the good men
they all want to become.”

For more information about the 100 Wave
Challenge please visit 100wave.org.

Monday, May 27, 2013

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came." ~John F. Kennedy

The sea constantly calls me, for it nourishes my body and soul. I am grateful for my freedom to skip down to the nearby beach and take a dip anytime I want. I am constantly reminded of and thankful for this freedom as the U.S. helicopters from a nearby Marine base frequently fly over my local surf break.
Memorial Day evokes the young soldier sweating on the filed in a far away place from his family and friends, not knowing if he will make it back. While we enjoy our BBQs and beach parties, the men and women who have and are currently serving our county are in my heart and thoughts. The below sea/surfing shots (taken with my GoPro Hero 3) are a tribute to all these men and women. Thank you.

The finest in wavecraft, courtesy of Michael Miller and John Cherry, two of the best surfboard shapers in San Diego and in the biz.

There's nothing like sharing your passion with your child. Thanks to my friend Val Reynolds for this fun photo of me and my son sharing some waves together.

In the sea I am free...thanks photographer Andrew Quinn for capturing me in my element.